Ryzom

dakhound wrote:ring = dismal turnout, to try and gain the mod crowd by devloping a tool and releasing it at the same time as NWN2 is madness

The only problem with the ring is not having independent hosting, making it very hard to play and have scenarios up.

When I leave my automated scenarios up overnight I get pretty good numbers, but I want to play too.

It was and still is a great idea and the guides have made good use of it too.

*A bit worried*...

Umm about the accounts... If I have a monthly fee... Will my account die after the free month?

I hope this goes well... I would hate to see Ryzom go poof... Or see it change into something I don't like anymore

*Rubs ear lobes* Woooo saaaa .... woooo saaaa.........

I expect the month free is just for the transition period, if all goes well with the transfer they'll start up charging again...

This is the worst news from ages..I started shaking ...love you all mates and this would be sth terrible to move out from Atys...

I'm troubled to discover today that the "important information" posted by "Marjo" is being held up by in-game CSRs as the most information players can expect to get, yet it's somewhat vague and barely 400 words long. I've spoken to several other Ryzom players and each seem to have a different interpretation of it. Any attempt by us to get basic official clarification (about pre-existing subscriptions etc) in-game were met with repetition of the "notice" verbatim and strong worded demands that no such questions be asked in the "universe" channel. I'm not a veteran player of this game but I imagine that, had I been a paying customer for over a year and received such a terse response from my CSR and in-game community, I wouldn't be pleased in the slightest.

It's only natural to expect that players will have questions (especially those of us who are relatively new to the game), and that they will turn to in-game Q&A chat channels and their CSRs for answers to those questions. This community and its CSRs simply cannot expect so many concerned players to NOT broach this subject live in-game. It's completely unreasonable. After all, the "universe" channel is for questions and answers about the game. What questions could possibly pertain more to the game than its "new" subscription parameters? People used to routinely ask what the level cap is on the island in Q&A. This time people are simply asking what the *new* limitations are and looking for clarification. Why are those questions being met with such anger and refusals?

Unfortunately I've today witnessed little more than flippant accusations and frustration directed at anyone who broaches the subject in-game. CSRs demand that any questions be taken to the forum and effectively let the community verbally lash anyone who doesn't. Yet the forums themselves show signs of extreme moderation/deletions. As a result it seems there's been very little clarification or discussion of this most important of topics here. (I can only wonder if this posting will make it to the forums at all - for this reason it will also be emailed to the company).

Altogether, these managerial approaches seem like the perfect recipe for instilling mistrust and bad blood in customer relations and it's sadly very similar to the recent approach taken by two major MMOs during their own financial collapses and subsequent take-overs. I think I speak for many players who had hoped Ryzom might replace their former collapsed MMOs (lots of NGE refugees in Ryzom) when I say that I'm somewhat disappointed. I expected more from Ryzom and it's community. Thankfully, I've not yet invested too much of my hope, time or money in this game and so I won't feel too much regret in now canceling my two accounts, "free" as they now may be.

The in-game CSR didn't care, but in case anyone's interested.

-"All existing subscribed accounts created before 3pm GMT will be turned into free account..." could mean many different things since it does not clarify the difference between a "trial" free account and a "free account" as is being referenced here. So in effect it could mean all paying players are now on par with "free trial" players and even those ready to head to the mainland can't. It could mean nothing changes and you can still go to mainland from island if you were subscribed before, and the entire account is simply free until someone says otherwise. It could even mean something else entirely that hasn't been specified here.

To add "...with 1 month of free access" only makes it more unclear. After all, what's the point in offering a "free month" to people who have just been given a "free account"? Free is free. You can't offer "more" free than free. I suppose one can only guess that what is actually meant is that players will not be charged for this passed month? Or perhaps the next month? Again, imprecise phrasing and no available clarification.

The line "It will not be possible to pay to subscribe to a full Ryzom account anymore." is also far too final and imprecise. That could mean anything from forever to a few days. Again, it's unclear and no clarification is offered. It seems even adding "Until further notice..." (which would imply a shorter period) is too much to ask.

The line "You will still be able to create a Free Trial account, but at the moment there will be no possibility to upgrade your account and go to mainland." doesn't address those people who were paying customers and had yet to go to the mainland. Are they now stuck on the island? If everyone is given a "free account" as stated before, then why differentiate between trial and paying players at all? Why not then let everyone simply go to mainland? And what exactly is the point in playing Ryzom at all if one can't progress to the mainland indefinitely? Adding the line -"As a result we've removed the level cap for the Free Trial to give players in the Ruins of Silan much more to achieve in the meantime." implies that no one can progress to mainland any longer, even those players who were paying. Still, that's not entirely clear.

And really, I've only scratched the surface. There are players who have even more interpretations of the above "important information" and even more complex questions regarding their subscription. Sadly, they'll likely get the same refusals and stonewalling we encountered while trying to get answers to these questions from an in-game CSR. In fact, when we were told to not ask these questions in-game via the universe channel, and said we would then contact the company directly instead, the CSR seemed to grow annoyed, warned us to not "bombard" the company with useless emails, and that the company would give us no more information than Marjo's "important information" posting. Nice attitude there (for the non-English speaking, that's sarcasm). Treating your players with suspicion, as if they're you're enemy. That seems rather un-Ryzom like and will make it even easier for us to move on. Some of us have danced this MMO tango before and aren't eager to dance it again.

That was a long post to say your unhappy...

They can only tell you what they know, and that is what they've done.

whatever new company it is probably won't have an unlimited trial like there is now. I was able to decide if I wanted to subscribe after about 4 days when I hit the cap, but I bet there are a lot of people just goofing around playing indefinitely for free. 2 weeks is not unreasonable. If you don't know if you like the game after 2 weeks, odds are you aren't going to subscribe anyway. Calling the current trial unlimited is kind of misleading in my opinion anyhow, it is limited. You can't even finish Silan under the cap.

I echo previous posters, CCP would rock, Funcom would be good, if it's SOE, I'm outta here. Everything they touch turns to cardboard.

thefront wrote: The in-game CSR didn't care, but in case anyone's interested.

Ok, was going to let your comments go, but this one needs an answer. I'm sure that the CSRs do care, but a probably under strict instructions not to say anything beyond the official statement and to stop chit-chat on Universe (as ever). Remember that their jobs are on the line too. It may seem rude, but if that is the script that they've been told to follow by there bosses, what are they supposed to do? There are laws covering what employees of a bankrupt company can say 'in public', if this may disrupt the chances of creditors getting the biggest share of their money back.

On the players side, things seem quite clear to me:

All currently 'paying' players are getting a free, unpaid, month (such free time has happened before)

All current 'trial' players will be limited to the Ruins of Silan, and will not be able to upgrade. However, the skill cap has been removed, so they can still develop their characters.

I don't see why the account changes would affect 'paying' players still in the Ruins of Silan, as access to the mainland is a function of the type of account (paying or trial) not where a character is at the moment. My alts on Silan still have the option of going to the mainland, as I am a 'paid up' player.

Nevrax will not be with us next year, but a knight in shining armour/wolf in sheep's clothing/asset stripper/whatever will be taking over, if negotiations are finalised. As in most business transactions, noone outside the companies involved will know anything until it is finalised.

I, for one, hope that there is a benevolent uncle in the wings who will be taking Nevrax's assets over, but leaving the devs to develop things as before.

And a final point. Nevrax could have just kept quiet, taken the month's money and blown it all down the casino, in a last ditch attempt to keep Nevrax afloat (this is a joke btw) Instead, they've decided to tell us that there is a takeover in the offing and given us free time to see how things develop.

to thefront:

What is obvious is that the "company", meaning Nevrax, is not able to function financially. That means, they cannot accept or spend money. So you cannot pay for a new account.

If Ryzom is not bought or bailed out by somebody, it will collapse. The CSR's do not know what is going to happen, any more than we do. So harassing them is not going to help. Neither is bombarding Nevrax, since they are not in control anymore. Today, there probably is no answer, and any financial negotiations will of course have to be kept secret.

My guess is that if you were a paying customer, you will now get a free month of play, while they work out the problem. If you are on the island, you will still be able to move to the mainland (I will bet).

If you are not a paying customer, you cannot pay to upgrade, so you will be stuck on the island. They increased the level cap so free players won't waste time.

I will not accept that the CSR's and management are trying to generate bad blood, and I do not accept that they don't care. They just don't know, so I think we should be patient and sympathetic to their plight.

Olepi

thefront wrote: The line "It will not be possible to pay to subscribe to a full Ryzom account anymore." is also far too final and imprecise. That could mean anything from forever to a few days. Again, it's unclear and no clarification is offered. It seems even adding "Until further notice..." (which would imply a shorter period) is too much to ask.

Actually it does:

Marjo wrote: ...while Nevrax is going through this transition period, the following actions have just been taken today...

thefront wrote: The line "You will still be able to create a Free Trial account, but at the moment there will be no possibility to upgrade your account and go to mainland." doesn't address those people who were paying customers and had yet to go to the mainland. Are they now stuck on the island? If everyone is given a "free account" as stated before, then why differentiate between trial and paying players at all? Why not then let everyone simply go to mainland? And what exactly is the point in playing Ryzom at all if one can't progress to the mainland indefinitely? Adding the line -"As a result we've removed the level cap for the Free Trial to give players in the Ruins of Silan much more to achieve in the meantime." implies that no one can progress to mainland any longer, even those players who were paying. Still, that's not entirely clear.

Apparently people have come from the mainland since this happened, so it seems like it was before, people who paid for accounts can go